“In 2024, 63,965 professionals residing in the country were registered with the Portuguese Medical Association,” corresponding to six doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, according to INE.

In 1991, there were 28,326, reflecting an average annual growth of 2.5%.

The Coimbra region was the area of the country with the highest proportion of resident doctors per 1,000 inhabitants (13.6).

Only 29 of the 308 Portuguese municipalities had a rate above the national average.

In its health personnel statistics, the INE (National Institute of Geography and Statistics) highlights that in 1991, 148.8 male physicians were registered per 100 women, while in 2024, the ratio was 71.5 men per 100 women.

Of the total number of registered physicians, almost two-thirds (62.4%) held one or more specialties, subspecialties, or competencies. Of the 39,945 specialist physicians, 23.3% held the specialty of General and Family Medicine, followed by Internal Medicine (8.9%) and Pediatrics (6.2%),” it highlights.

Last year, 26.6% of physicians were over 65 years old and 15.8% were under 31 years old.

Dentists

The INE also highlights that 12,490 professionals were registered with the Order of Dentists, triple the number observed in 2002 (4,134).

"In 2002, the number of male dentists was similar to the number of female dentists, but by 2024, 54.3 men per 100 women were registered with the Portuguese Dental Association," he notes.

The Porto Metropolitan Area and the Viseu Dão Lafões region had the highest rates.

The Alentejo Litoral, Baixo Alentejo, and Lezíria do Tejo regions had the lowest rates (0.5 in all three cases).

The most represented nationalities among foreign dentists (8.9% of the total) were: Brazil (55.7%), Italy (14.1%), and Spain (6.5%).

In 2024, 85,499 professionals were registered with the Portuguese Dental Association, double the number registered in 2002 (41,799).

Approximately 83% of registered nurses were women, with 36% aged 31 to 45 representing a significant percentage. Of the total, 29.4% were specialists.

The most represented nationalities among foreign nurses (1.6% of the total) were: Brazil (36.1%), Spain (21.5%), Cape Verde (5.0%), Angola (4.6%), and France (4.2%).

The number of nurses corresponded to eight nurses per 1,000 inhabitants, with the highest figure in the Coimbra region (14.6).

The municipalities with the highest rates of active nurses per 1,000 inhabitants were primarily district capitals such as Coimbra (which had the highest rate in the country: 25.5), Portalegre (20.3), Guarda (19.3), Bragança (18.3), Vila Real (18.0), Beja (15.8), and Évora (14.3).

In Pampilhosa da Serra, Vila Velha de Ródão, and Castanheira de Pêra, the ratio was less than 2.0 nurses per 1,000 inhabitants.

Pharmacists

Last year, 17,101 professionals were registered with the Order of Pharmacists, more than double the number in 2002 (7,962), with the proportion of women remaining stable over the last 20 years at around 80%.

The proportion of pharmacists working in pharmacies increased from 58.7% in 2002 to 63.1% in 2024, a year in which foreign professionals represented 0.9% of the total, of which 34.2% were Brazilian nationals.